Has Chris Dodd and the MPAA crossed the 'bribery' line?

[ArticMine]

The petition "Investigate Chris Dodd and the MPAA for bribery after he publicly admited to bribing politicans to pass legislation" can be found here https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/investigate-chris-dodd-and-mpaa-bribery-after-he-publicly-admited-bribing-politicans-pass/DffX0YQv. Chris Dodd's comments over support for SOPA may have crossed the bribery line even under US law.

Here are some more links:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/248552/petition_seeks_probe_of_mpaa_bribery_over_sopa.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/23/idUS217169227120120123
http://torrentfreak.com/white-house-petitioned-to-investigate-mpaa-bribery-120122/

[legitnick]

Bribery is legal in the US, it's called "lobbying".

[ArticMine]

Bribery is legal in the US, it's called "lobbying".

There is a major difference between lobbying and bribery, and bribing or attempting to bribe public officials is not legal in the United States.

[bb113]

That appears to just be a petition to get the white house to release a one page press release on the matter. I think the purpose of that site is data mining.

[joulesbeef]

No he didnt but that is part of the problem.

There is nothing wrong with saying that you wont give any more money to politicians that dont vote your way.

Bribery is so specific it is amazing that some congress members actually get busted on it.

You actually have to say.. "vote for this specific bill and I will give you this specific money"

wink wink nudge nudge bribery is the most common and is totally legal.


For a better example, not only was this legal, but it also was not an ethics violation of the house

Boner, handed out checks on the house floor from tobacco lobbyists right before a vote, to remove tobacco subsidies. The american public were for the subsidies being removed. It actually looked like congress might actually remove them. After Boehner handed out the checks, the bill to remove the subsidies  failed overwhelmingly.

We all know it was payment for that vote. But it doesnt count as a bribe. Wink wink nudge nudge.


The only way to fix this is to get money out of congress. Elections need to be publically funded so they are beholden to the public rather than their biggest campaign contributors.

Congress and their families should also be limited from running charities. (or at least enforce a percentage spent on actually charity over admin, because some are less than 50% and only exist as a way to get even more bribes)

[Hawker]

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/investigate-chris-dodd-and-mpaa-bribery-after-he-publicly-admited-bribing-politicans-pass/DffX0YQv

Looks like he will at least be investigated for corruption.

[Dutch Merganser]

There's been entirely too much apologizing about this. The great thing about K Street in Washington DC is that if you are in Congress the whores pick you up.

Grayson Calls Linda Robertson A "K Street Whore"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/grayson-calls-linda-rober_n_335447.html

[joulesbeef]

No he didnt but that is part of the problem.

There is nothing wrong with saying that you wont give any more money to politicians that dont vote your way.

Bribery is so specific it is amazing that some congress members actually get busted on it.

You actually have to say.. "vote for this specific bill and I will give you this specific money"

wink wink nudge nudge bribery is the most common and is totally legal.


For a better example, not only was this legal, but it also was not an ethics violation of the house

Boner, handed out checks on the house floor from tobacco lobbyists right before a vote, to remove tobacco subsidies. The american public were for the subsidies being removed. It actually looked like congress might actually remove them. After Boehner handed out the checks, the bill to remove the subsidies  failed overwhelmingly.

We all know it was payment for that vote. But it doesnt count as a bribe. Wink wink nudge nudge.


The only way to fix this is to get money out of congress. Elections need to be publically funded so they are beholden to the public rather than their biggest campaign contributors.

Congress and their families should also be limited from running charities. (or at least enforce a percentage spent on actually charity over admin, because some are less than 50% and only exist as a way to get even more bribes)

Stop singing yourselves lullabies.

Lobbying _is_ bribery, just labeled differently not to hurt the feelings of the flock.

It is plain and simple _illegal_ to give _any_ kind of money to politicians in decent democracies.

If the US was honest with itself, votes would just be auctioned on EBay, it'd save everyone a lot of time and energy.

WTF do you mean stop singing lullabies.

I am talking legality. US law. Simply saying it isnt illegal and you cant make it illegal without getting money out of congress.

Stop singing your own lullabies